 |  | 
November 30, 2011 | | EMERGENCY As the Federal Reserve joins global central banks in a collective action against the looming euro meltdown, Slate's Matt Yglesias explains why it's so crucial that the U.S. participate: non-American banks hold nearly 50 percent of the U.S. dollars in the world, and a European crash might suddenly make them unavailable to American borrowers. "You never want the people in charge to actually set off a panic by speaking too soon about hypothetical calamities, but we’d all better hope that somewhere in the basement of the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve they’re prepping a Plan B to keep money flowing even if European finance dries up." 2012 The Cain train will keep on going, at least for now. The Republican candidate told a crowd of supporters in Ohio that he would stay in the race, contrary to reports earlier this week that he was “reassessing” whether to continue his campaign after an Atlanta woman claimed she had had a 13-year affair with him. “The American people are going to raise some Cain in 2012!” he told the crowd. “They want you to believe that we can’t do this,” he said. “They want you to believe that with enough character assignation on me, I will drop out!” When the crowd shouted “No!” Cain said, “Well, the American people have a different idea.” RELIEF Six major central banks took coordinated action Wednesday to prevent the mushrooming European debt crisis from overtaking the global economy—and the markets love it. In the U.S., the Dow Jones spiked 400 points in early trading, climbing back into positive territory for 2011. In the agreement, the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, and the Swiss National Bank said they would lower the cost of existing U.S. dollar swaps by 50 basis points from Dec. 5 until Feb. 1, which will make it cheaper for banks to get U.S. dollar liquidity when they need it. European stock indexes jumped on the news as well, and the euro rallied against the dollar. MIDDLE EAST For the first time in weeks, Tahrir Square was peaceful on Wednesday as Egyptians awaited the results of parliamentary elections, the first since Mubarak’s ouster in February. Citizens voted on Monday and Tuesday for members of the lower house of parliament, which will be responsible for drafting a new constitution. Clashes broke out in Tahrir Square Tuesday night amid reports of illegal campaigning, but all was calm by Wednesday afternoon. While the Muslim Brotherhood and the Al Noor Salafi Muslim Party claimed a majority of votes, official results aren’t expected until Thursday at the earliest. Penn State The first sex-abuse lawsuit filed against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky comes from a new accuser, a man who says Sandusky abused him more than 100 times. The man says Sandsuky met him at the age of 10 through Sandusky’s charity, the Second Mile, which the suit names as a defendant along with Penn State. The alleged abuse occurred from 1991 to 1996. The accuser is not one of the eight boys the grand-jury report says Sandusky abused. | | 
GET The Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of news and must-reads from across the Web. You'll love the featured original stories on politics, entertainment, and more from The Daily Beast's diverse group of contributors.  GET The Yes List Weekly cultural recommendations from The Daily Beast.
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment